Blizzard Entertainment
Attention, recruits! If you haven’t already had the opportunity to suit up and save the world as one of the heroes of Overwatch, now’s your chance.
From September 22–25, we’re calling on all prospective agents: assemble your team and dive in during the Overwatch Free Weekend on PC, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One!
For this free weekend, we’re making Overwatch’s full roster of 25 heroes and 16 maps available for play in a variety of modes, including Quick Play, Custom Games, and the Arcade. Players will also have the ability to level up, earn Loot Boxes, and unlock a variety of different customization options.
Plus, if you decide to purchase Overwatch after test driving the game, you’ll get to keep any progress that you made during the weekend—just be sure to use the same Blizzard, Sony Entertainment, or Xbox Live account that you played on.
For more details and to learn how you can participate, read on below!
The Overwatch Free Weekend will run from September 22–25. PlayStation 4 owners with a PlayStation Plus membership, Xbox One owners with an Xbox Live Gold membership, and Windows PC users with a Battle.net account will be able to download and play Overwatch for FREE during this period—no special keys or sign-up codes needed!
The free period will begin on September 22 at 11am PT and end on September 25 at 11:59pm PT in all participating regions across all platforms. If you’d like to see when the weekend will go live in your region, check out the guides below. For additional time zone assistance, please visit timezoneconverter.com.
| EUROPE: | THE AMERICAS: | ASIA: |
|---|---|---|
| 19:00 BST on Sept 22
20:00 CEST on Sept 22 21:00 MSK on Sept 22 |
11:00 a.m. PDT on Sep 22
12:00 p.m. MDT on Sept 22 1:00 p.m. CDT on Sept 22 1:00 p.m. AST on Sept 22 2:00 p.m. EDT on Sept 22 3:00 p.m. BRT on Sept 22 3:30 p.m. NDT on Sept 22 2:00 a.m. SGT on Sept 23 4:00 a.m. AEST on Sept 23 6:00 a.m. NZDT on Sept 23 |
2:00 a.m. CST on Sept 23
3:00 a.m. KST on Sept 23 3:00 a.m. JST on Sept 23 |
Before your watch can begin, you’ll first need to install Overwatch on your chosen platform. Every platform is a little different—to install and play on September 22, please follow the instructions below.
FOR WINDOWS PC:
Step 1: Download and install the Blizzard Battle.net desktop app, if you haven’t already, and launch it.
Step 2: Create a FREE Blizzard account, or log in with an existing account.
Step 3: Click the “Overwatch” icon, located on the left-hand side of the Blizzard desktop app.
Step 4: Select your region from the drop-down menu, then click “Install” to begin the installation process.
Step 5: Once installed, click “Play” to begin!
FOR PLAYSTATION 4:
Step 1: Turn on your PlayStation 4 and log in to your preferred local user.
Step 2: Go to PlayStation Store and select “Search” from the top menu.
Step 3: In the search field, type in “Overwatch.”
Step 4: Select “Overwatch Free Weekend” from the search results and then click “Download.”
Step 5: Once the download and installation process is complete, click “Start” to begin!
FOR XBOX ONE:
Step 1: Turn on your Xbox One and log in to your Xbox Live account.
Step 2: Go to the Xbox One Store, then select “Search.”
Step 3: In the search field, type in “Overwatch.”
Step 4: Select “Overwatch: Origins Edition” from the search results and then click “Free Trial.”
Step 5: Once the download and installation process is complete, click “Launch” to begin!
The Overwatch Free Weekend client will be available for download from September 22–25.
Q. In what regions is the Free Weekend available?
A. The Free Weekend will be offered in all regions on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. On PC, it will only be available in our Americas, Europe, and Asia gameplay regions—excluding Korea. For more information on which countries are associated with each of our Blizzard gameplay regions, click here.
Q. What game content will be available during the Free Weekend?
A. During the Free Weekend, players will have access to Overwatch’s full roster of heroes, maps, and a selection of features—including Quick Play, Custom Games, the Arcade, and Loot Boxes.
Q. How many heroes are available in Overwatch?
A. There are 25 heroes available to play in Overwatch! To learn more about these heroes, click here.
Q. How many maps are available in Overwatch?
A. There are 4 different game modes and 16 different maps available in Overwatch!
- Assault: Hanamura, Horizon Lunar Colony, Temple of Anubis, and Volskaya Industries
- Escort: Dorado, Junkertown, Route 66, and Watchpoint: Gibraltar
- Assault/Escort Hybrid: Eichenwalde, Hollywood, King’s Row, and Numbani
- Control: Ilios, Lijiang Tower, Nepal, and Oasis
Q. How many players does each mode support?
A. Quick Play maps supports 12 players in a 6v6 format. The Arcade features alternate games modes and maps that support players in a 1v1, 3v3, 6v6, and free-for-all formats.
Q. What different play modes are available in Overwatch during the Free Weekend?
A. There are a variety of ways to play Overwatch during the Free Weekend!
- Quick Play: Jump into a game against other players of similar skill.
- Play vs. AI: Hone your skills against a team of AI-controlled heroes.
- Custom Game: Customize the rules and play a game with your friends or AI.
- The Arcade: Change things up with alternate games modes featuring different rules sets and restrictions.
Players can also learn the ropes in a series of training modes: Tutorial, Practice Range, and Practice vs. AI.
Q. Do I need Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus membership to participate in the Free Weekend?
A. Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus are required to play during the Free Weekend.
Q. What languages are supported during Free Weekend?
A. The Free Weekend will be supported in 13 languages across all platforms: English, French, German, Polish, Italian, Russian, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
Q. Will my progress from the Free Weekend carry over if I purchase Overwatch later?
A. Yes. Any progression you earn, including levels as well as skins and other items you get from Loot Boxes, will carry over to the full game if you purchase Overwatch® Game of the Year Edition on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 or any version of Overwatch on PC—just be sure you purchase the game on the same account you played on during this free weekend.
Your stats will also be retained. (Trophies and achievements, however, have been disabled for the Free Weekend.)
Q. Will PC and console gamers be able to play together during the Free Weekend?
A: No, cross-platform play is not available in Overwatch.
Q. Will there be any sort of maintenance planned during the Free Weekend?
A. There’s no downtime or maintenance currently planned for the Free Weekend. If this plan changes at any point, we’ll be sure to provide information about major service interruptions in the official forums. For additional status updates, be sure to follow @PlayOverwatch on Twitter.